"Rumor Has It" (pg 13)

(star) 1/2

December 23, 2005|By Matt Pais.

Big question: Imagine this: You learn the 1967 film "The Graduate" was based on your family, as Jennifer Aniston's character does. You find this out shortly after getting engaged. Do you inexplicably decide to ditch your fiance for the man who slept with your grandma (the real-life Mrs. Robinson) and now-deceased mother?

Skip it: "Rumor Has It" is an unfunny and deceivingly good-natured comedy about people shrugging off familial betrayal. Rumors become facts within minutes; deception and infidelity result in mere slaps on the wrists; and conflicts are left unresolved.

Catch it if: you want your family's issues to seem less complicated.

Bottom line: Director Rob Reiner maintains a weirdly lighthearted tone throughout scenes of heartbreak, and self-absorbed characters backstab with a smile. The manipulative "Rumor" is as glazed and cooked as a Christmas ham.

Bonus: Delivering the film's only standout performance, Kevin Costner proves he wasn't in an acting slump; he just needed to find a character who's never played baseball!